Performing Arts Weekly, Jan. 19-25, 2017

Since Mozart was a
Freemason and The Magic Flute played
with masonic imagery, where better in Milwaukee to stage the opera than the
landmark Tripoli Shrine? Milwaukee Opera Theatre brought other good ideas to
the imaginative recreation they call Zie
Magic Flute. A collaboration with Quasimondo Physical Theatre and Candance
Collective, Zie Magic Flute features
a witty new English-language adaptation commissioned by MOT.

“We were hooked!”
says MOT Artistic Director Jill Anna Ponasik of her visit to Tripoli Shrine
with Quasimondo’s Brian Rott. “Glorious music. A magical setting. And a
beautiful opportunity to develop a new adaptation.” The comical Papagena comes
out on roller skates—a staging of which Mozart might have approved. (David
Luhrssen)

Frankly Music, Wind and Strings @ Wisconsin
Lutheran College, Jan. 23

No fewer than 11
instrumentalists assemble at Schwan Concert Hall on the campus of Wisconsin
Lutheran College for an evening of solos, trios, quartets and a legendary
divertimento. The most modern pieces are Leonard Bernstein’s Sonata for
Clarinet and Piano; Pierre-Octave Ferroud’s Trois
pièces pour flûte seule and the Quartet in C Major for Winds by Arthur
Berger. Composer Virgil Thomson lauded the latter work as “one of the most
satisfactory pieces for winds in the whole modern repertory.” The classical era
is also well represented on the program by way of Haydn’s London Trio in C
Major, and Mozart’s glorious, monumental Divertimento in B-Flat Major for Two
Horns and Strings. (John Jahn)

THEATER:

McGuire @
Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Jan. 20-March 19

Al McGuire was head
coach of Marquette University’s men’s basketball team from 1964 to 1977, and won
the NCAA National Championship in that final season. The Rep presents the newly
expanded one-man show McGuire at the
Stackner Cabaret—not only to honor the man but also the 100th anniversary of
Marquette basketball. Tony Award-winning actor (and Milwaukee native) Anthony
Crivello portrays Coach McGuire. (John Jahn)

The Lion in Winter @
The Alchemist Theatre, Jan. 20-Feb. 4

James Goldman’s Tony
Award-winning The Lion in Winter
premiered on Broadway in 1966—a play set during the holiday season of 1183
involving English King Henry II, his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, their children
and their guests. The latter include such 12th-century notables as Richard the
Lionheart and France’s Philip II. It’s a successful blend of fact and fiction
and, as TheNew York Times opined of the play: “The vexed royal family… is made
up of super-sexualized, emotional predators,” and it’s “a megaphone for the
’60s theme of family malice.” The Alchemist Theatre plays host to Pride Theatre
Company for this production. (John Jahn)

You Can’t Take It With You @
Sunset Playhouse’s Furlan Auditorium, Jan. 19-Feb. 4

Moss Hart and George
S. Kaufman’s wonderfully zany and touching play You Can’t Take It With You premiered on Broadway in 1936, won the Pulitzer
Prize for drama and spawned a Frank Capra-directed, Oscar-winning film starring
Lionel Barrymore and James Stewart. As this local production’s director, Brian
Zelinski, says: “Kaufman and Hart are the playwrights [who wrote] a show that
just speaks to people, because the characters are rich and real; the things
that happen to them can be crazy and at times bizarre, but you will fall in
love with somebody on this stage.” (John Jahn)

Lovabye Dragon @
First Stage, Jan. 21-Feb. 19

From Wisconsin
author Barbara Joosse’s Dragon and Girl book series we have here a world
premiere musical adaptation with music and lyrics by The Happy Racers. This
production is the very definition of “family-friendly,” with shows starting as
early as 11 a.m. and no later than 3:30 p.m. throughout the run. Indeed, Lovabye Dragon is part of First Stage’s
First Steps Series, geared toward audience members in the 3-7-plus-year-old
range. Says Jeff Frank, the musical’s co-writer, “our young audiences are sure
to love this enchanted tale of a friendship between a girl and a dragon;”
Joosse adds that she’s “over the moon with Lovabye
Dragon and so is my little girl self.” (John Jahn)

DANCE:

Get It Out There

Danceworks DanceLAB @
Danceworks Studio Theatre, Jan. 21

Performing
artworks don’t exist without an audience. “Get It Out There,” a now biannual
showcase of dance, theater and music performance hosted by Danceworks, frees
area artists from many production demands and costs so they can test new ideas
with an audience to complete the process. Artistic Director Kim Johnson says,
“I love that we can now embrace 15 acts, by both well-established and emerging
artists, even though it means we have to make two shows happen in one night.”
Those shows are 6:30 and 8 p.m. Both have exciting line-ups. (John Schneider)

SOCIAL UPDATES

Sign up to receive the latest from ShepherdExpress.com and win free tickets to area events!

Email Lists

Deals and Promotions

Dining

News and Views

Shepherd Events

Ticket Tuesday

Week in Review

Email Address

By submitting this form, you are granting: The Shepherd Express, 207 E. Buffalo St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53202, United States, http://shepherdexpress.com permission to email you. You may unsubscribe via the link found at the bottom of every email. (See our Email Privacy Policy for details.) Emails are serviced by Constant Contact.